It's official - the new champions of Asia are Iraq. The Final of the Asian Cup 2007 took place yesterday in Jakarta and it was a day for the underdogs who, until now, have never won the tournament.
Saudi Arabia were undoubtedly the favourites to win the competition but they rarely threatened the Iraqi goal. At the other end of the pitch, however, Iraq played to win as though their very existence depended on it. Qusay Munir volleyed wide from the edge of the penalty area after six minutes, then Younis Mahmoud saw his overhead kick fly wide from just outside the six-yard box two minutes later.
Shortly after that, the game became scrappy as Australian referee Mark Shield booked five players. Any chances that threatened to bring about a goal at either end were being snuffed out by the opposing defences, even into the second half. All the while, Iraq grew stronger and more threatening but it wasn't until the 71st minute that they finally made the breakthrough they'd been searching for.
Iraq won a corner which was taken by Hawar Mohammed but when Saudi goalkeeper Yasser Al-Musalim came out to catch the high ball, he misjudged its flight. As it sailed over his head, the ball fell to Mahmoud who headed it goalwards and into the net. Mahmoud could even have made it 2-0 six minutes later when he was put clean through with only the keeper to beat, but Al-Musalim was quickly off his line to deny him.
The match ended with Saudi Arabia as ineffective as they had been throughout leaving Iraq to raise the trophy to the delight of their fans at home and abroad. Heaven knows they haven't had much to cheer about of late, but this win will bring much happiness to all of them.
Congratulations, then, to Iraq - winners of a great Asian Cup competition. May they enjoy their four years at the top of the tree ahead of the next Asian Cup in Qatar in 2011.
Showing posts with label Asian Cup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Asian Cup. Show all posts
Monday, 30 July 2007
Thursday, 26 July 2007
Asian Cup 2007 - Semi Final Review
Before we look at what happened in the Asian Cup 2007 semi-finals, let's fill you in on the outcome of the two remaining quarter-finals at the time of our previous report.
Iran v Korea Republic
A quarter-final between Iran and the Korean Republic is something that's come to be expected in the Asian Cup of late. Iran won this encounter 4-3 in China three years ago, but Korea were the victors by two goals to one in Lebanon in 2000 following a 6-2 win for Iran in the UAE four years before that.
This time around, a lively and exciting encounter took place at a largely-empty Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Both teams created chances in the first half which were largely denied by the on-form goalkeepers at either end. The second half had a more reserved feel and when the 90 minutes ended goalless, the half an hour of extra time followed a similar line too.
Neither team seemed prepared to gamble on finding a winning goal and so the second of three quarter-finals had to be decided on a penalty shoot-out. Though substitute goalkeeper Vahid Taleblou managed to save Korea's third penalty, Lee Woon-Jae stopped two for the opposing side, giving the Korean Republic a path through to the semi-finals 5-4 where they would play Iraq. More of which later...
Saudi Arabia v Uzbekistan
One of the most interesting pairings came in the last of the quarter-finals between the Saudis and Uzbekistan, and the former couldn't have wished for a better start. Yasser Al-Qahtani put Saudi Arabia 1-0 up after just three minutes when Uzbek 'keeper Ignatiy Nesterov could only parry a shot from Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani.
A couple of minutes later, Uzbekistan nearly equalised through Server Djeparov but his shot hit the post - an occurrance which would happen a further four times for his side during the match. Uzbekistan launched wave after wave of attack, dovetailing the Saudis who were giving as good as they got. Despite all the end-to-end action, the score remained 1-0 at the end of the first half.
The second half panned out in much the same way, but as time marched on Uzbekistan opened up more and more in their search for an equaliser. Somewhat predictably in the 75th minute, Ahmed Al-Mousa took advantage of the gaps that were appearing to make it 2-0 to Saudi Arabia.
Game over... or so they thought because with just nine minutes remaining, Uzbekistan finally found the net (albeit scrappily and from close range) when Pavel Solomin made it 2-1 to give the Saudis a nerve-wracking end to the game. Alexander Geynrikh hit the post two minutes later to really send the pulses racing, but it was not to be for Uzbekistan. Saudi Arabia had made it through to the semi-finals to play Japan in a replay of the 2000 Final which Japan won 1-0. Could they get their revenge this time?
Semi Finals
July 25th was crunch time for the four teams who were eyeing a place in the Final of the Asian Cup 2007. Iraq had never played in the Asian Cup Final, but to get there they would have to beat a South Korea team who had won the competition in its first two outings and appeared in the semi-finals in 1988 and 2000. Elsewhere, Japan would face Saudi Arabia. Betweem them they had won each of the last six Asian Cups, but only one would stand a chance of lifting the trophy this year...
Iraq v Korea Republic
A deluge of rain in Kuala Lumpur made for plenty of football of the far-from-pretty variety in the first semi final. Any attempts on goal that arrived were evenly shared between both sides but neither could put the ball in the net prior to half time. After the break, the Koreans nearly went ahead when Sabri had to clear the ball off the Iraqi goal line following a free-kick by Yeom Ki-Hun but after that the attacks from both sides proved just as impotent as those in the first half.
Through extra time, both teams offered more in the way of high and wide shooting which meant a penalty shoot-out was needed to settle the match. After six successful shots went in, Sabri saved a weak effort by Yeom Ki-Hun to give Iraq the advantage. Ahmed Mnajed then put Iraq 4-3 in front before Kim Jung-Woo’s final penalty for the Koreans hit the right post. It meant Iraq were through to their first ever Asian Cup Final while for the Korean Republic, their search for a first win since 1960 would go on.
Iraq face South Korea in a penalty shoot-out
Japan v Saudi Arabia
It was difficult to know who'd run out the winners of this match as both teams battled it out in a great contest. Saudi Arabia seemed to start the slowest of the two but when a free kick fell to Yasser Al-Qahtani in the 35th minute, Kawaguchi was helpless to stop the resulting shot in the Japanese goal. 1-0 to Saudi Arabia.
Their celebrations had barely subsided when two minutes later Yuji Nakazawa headed home an Endo corner to level the scores at 1-1. Shortly after, Nakamura almost scored from a free kick when Yasser Al-Musalim made a hash of collecting the ball, but the game remained level going into half time.
Malek Maaz made sure the second half got off to a bang as he headed in Ahmed Al-Bahari's precise cross after just two minutes, but Japan again came back quickly. With 53 minutes on the clock, Yuki Abe unleashed an excellent bicycle kick to level the scores at 2-2 but his time as hero was all too brief. Just four minutes later, Malek Maaz skipped past a dozing Abe and unleashed a fierce drive beyond Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi in the Japanese goal to put the Saudis back in front, 3-2.
Japan struggled to find another equaliser but substitute Naotake Hanyu came closest as his thunderous long-range effort crashed off the cross bar in the 75th minute. In the end, Japan's determination and competitive spirit went unrewarded as the game finished with victory for the Saudis who revenged defeats to the Japanese in the 1992 and 2000 finals.
Japan face Saudi Arabia in the second semi-final
So that's it - the Final in Jakarta on Sunday will be between Iraq and Saudi Arabia with the first course coming the day before in the form of a third/fourth place game between Japan and South Korea. Both matches are mouth-watering prospects and rest assured they'll be covered here at SPAOTP.com next week.
Iran v Korea Republic
A quarter-final between Iran and the Korean Republic is something that's come to be expected in the Asian Cup of late. Iran won this encounter 4-3 in China three years ago, but Korea were the victors by two goals to one in Lebanon in 2000 following a 6-2 win for Iran in the UAE four years before that.
This time around, a lively and exciting encounter took place at a largely-empty Bukit Jalil Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. Both teams created chances in the first half which were largely denied by the on-form goalkeepers at either end. The second half had a more reserved feel and when the 90 minutes ended goalless, the half an hour of extra time followed a similar line too.
Neither team seemed prepared to gamble on finding a winning goal and so the second of three quarter-finals had to be decided on a penalty shoot-out. Though substitute goalkeeper Vahid Taleblou managed to save Korea's third penalty, Lee Woon-Jae stopped two for the opposing side, giving the Korean Republic a path through to the semi-finals 5-4 where they would play Iraq. More of which later...
Saudi Arabia v Uzbekistan
One of the most interesting pairings came in the last of the quarter-finals between the Saudis and Uzbekistan, and the former couldn't have wished for a better start. Yasser Al-Qahtani put Saudi Arabia 1-0 up after just three minutes when Uzbek 'keeper Ignatiy Nesterov could only parry a shot from Abdulrahman Al-Qahtani.
A couple of minutes later, Uzbekistan nearly equalised through Server Djeparov but his shot hit the post - an occurrance which would happen a further four times for his side during the match. Uzbekistan launched wave after wave of attack, dovetailing the Saudis who were giving as good as they got. Despite all the end-to-end action, the score remained 1-0 at the end of the first half.
The second half panned out in much the same way, but as time marched on Uzbekistan opened up more and more in their search for an equaliser. Somewhat predictably in the 75th minute, Ahmed Al-Mousa took advantage of the gaps that were appearing to make it 2-0 to Saudi Arabia.
Game over... or so they thought because with just nine minutes remaining, Uzbekistan finally found the net (albeit scrappily and from close range) when Pavel Solomin made it 2-1 to give the Saudis a nerve-wracking end to the game. Alexander Geynrikh hit the post two minutes later to really send the pulses racing, but it was not to be for Uzbekistan. Saudi Arabia had made it through to the semi-finals to play Japan in a replay of the 2000 Final which Japan won 1-0. Could they get their revenge this time?
Semi Finals
July 25th was crunch time for the four teams who were eyeing a place in the Final of the Asian Cup 2007. Iraq had never played in the Asian Cup Final, but to get there they would have to beat a South Korea team who had won the competition in its first two outings and appeared in the semi-finals in 1988 and 2000. Elsewhere, Japan would face Saudi Arabia. Betweem them they had won each of the last six Asian Cups, but only one would stand a chance of lifting the trophy this year...
Iraq v Korea Republic
A deluge of rain in Kuala Lumpur made for plenty of football of the far-from-pretty variety in the first semi final. Any attempts on goal that arrived were evenly shared between both sides but neither could put the ball in the net prior to half time. After the break, the Koreans nearly went ahead when Sabri had to clear the ball off the Iraqi goal line following a free-kick by Yeom Ki-Hun but after that the attacks from both sides proved just as impotent as those in the first half.
Through extra time, both teams offered more in the way of high and wide shooting which meant a penalty shoot-out was needed to settle the match. After six successful shots went in, Sabri saved a weak effort by Yeom Ki-Hun to give Iraq the advantage. Ahmed Mnajed then put Iraq 4-3 in front before Kim Jung-Woo’s final penalty for the Koreans hit the right post. It meant Iraq were through to their first ever Asian Cup Final while for the Korean Republic, their search for a first win since 1960 would go on.
Iraq face South Korea in a penalty shoot-out
Japan v Saudi Arabia
It was difficult to know who'd run out the winners of this match as both teams battled it out in a great contest. Saudi Arabia seemed to start the slowest of the two but when a free kick fell to Yasser Al-Qahtani in the 35th minute, Kawaguchi was helpless to stop the resulting shot in the Japanese goal. 1-0 to Saudi Arabia.
Their celebrations had barely subsided when two minutes later Yuji Nakazawa headed home an Endo corner to level the scores at 1-1. Shortly after, Nakamura almost scored from a free kick when Yasser Al-Musalim made a hash of collecting the ball, but the game remained level going into half time.
Malek Maaz made sure the second half got off to a bang as he headed in Ahmed Al-Bahari's precise cross after just two minutes, but Japan again came back quickly. With 53 minutes on the clock, Yuki Abe unleashed an excellent bicycle kick to level the scores at 2-2 but his time as hero was all too brief. Just four minutes later, Malek Maaz skipped past a dozing Abe and unleashed a fierce drive beyond Yoshikatsu Kawaguchi in the Japanese goal to put the Saudis back in front, 3-2.
Japan struggled to find another equaliser but substitute Naotake Hanyu came closest as his thunderous long-range effort crashed off the cross bar in the 75th minute. In the end, Japan's determination and competitive spirit went unrewarded as the game finished with victory for the Saudis who revenged defeats to the Japanese in the 1992 and 2000 finals.
Japan face Saudi Arabia in the second semi-final
So that's it - the Final in Jakarta on Sunday will be between Iraq and Saudi Arabia with the first course coming the day before in the form of a third/fourth place game between Japan and South Korea. Both matches are mouth-watering prospects and rest assured they'll be covered here at SPAOTP.com next week.
Saturday, 21 July 2007
Asian Cup - The story so far...
While the gaze of many a football fan was fixed on the Copa America, the 2007 Asian Cup quietly got underway in not one host country but four - Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Where UEFA feels it would be impractical for more than two host countries to stage a large tournament, the AFC obviously has no such qualms.
This is the fourteenth Asian Cup to take place since its inauguration back in 1956 when Hong Kong were given the honour of beginning the four-yearly cycle. At the time, only twelve countries were affiliated to the AFC but seven took part in that first competition which was won by the Korean Republic. Four years later, the Korean Republic hosted the tournament themselves and promptly won it again.
Having been runners-up in the first two tournaments, Israel finally prevailed in 1964, but the Asian Cup was hereafter to feature a series of dominant periods for some of the region's heavyweights.
Iran won the next three tournaments from 1968 to 1976 and after Kuwait brought that run to an end in 1980, Saudi Arabia took over as the team to beat, winning in 1984, 1988 and 1996. Japan stopped a potential four-in-a-row sequence by snatching the trophy in 1992 on home soil and picked up where they left off by winning it again in 2000 and 2004.
All of which brings us up to the present day and since the last tournament in China, the Asian Cup has really meant business. Japan are still ruling the roost, new teams like Uzbekistan and Australia are trying to upset the equilibrium while long-dormant big-wigs like Iran and the Korean Republic continue in their fight to be Asia's number 1 again.
So how has the 2007 tournament started so far? Let's find out...
First Round
Group A (Australia / Iraq / Oman / Thailand)
All eyes were on Australia who had jumped ship to be a part of the AFC after years of affiliation with the ceania Football Confederation. Things didn't start well for them though - only an injury time equaliser from Tim Cahill was good enough to earn them a 1-1 draw with Oman. Come the second match, things got even worse when a strong Iraq side turned over the Socceroos 3-1.
By this stage, Australia were bottom of the group with no points while co-hosts Thailand had picked up four, as had Iraq. Going into the last round of matches, Australia knew that to finish second in the group and qualify for the quarter finals they'd have to beat Thailand (playing in front of a home crowd) by four clear goals, preferably without conceding any. Oh, and hope that Iraq would beat Oman in the other game going on at the same time.
To their credit, they did exactly that. Aussie coach Graham Arnold made four changes to the side that lost to Iraq, including the demotion of Harry Kewell to the bench. It paid off as Mark Viduka scored two after Michael Beauchamp got the opener in the 21st minute and Harry Kewell came on to score a 90th minute clincher.
That 4-0 win meant heartbreak for Thailand as they finished third in the group on goal difference behind Australia in second and Iraq, a point ahead of them at the top. Oman's goalless draw with Iraq in front of a crowd of just 500 was not enough to keep them off the foot of the group table.
Highlights of Thailand v Australia
Group B (Japan / Qatar / United Arab Emirates / Vietnam)
Hot favourites to win this group were Japan although at 36 their current FIFA ranking is just six places better than the UAE. As it was, Japan didn't disappoint despite dropping two points against Qatar in their first game after Sebastian Quintana equalised from a free kick two minutes from the end.
That minor blip out of the way, Japan breezed past the UAE with a 3-1 win before going on to sweep aside Vietnam 4-1. Luckily for the co-hosts, their hard work had already been done thanks to a 2-0 opening victory against the United Arab Emirates and a 1-1 draw against Qatar. All they had to hope for was that the UAE would beat Qatar in their last game, and they duly did.
So after all that, Japan finished top of Group B with five points and going through to the next round were Vietnam on four. The United Arab Emirates, despite that win in their last game, went home with just three points and Qatar's two draws left them bottom on two.
Group C (China / Iran / Malaysia / Uzbekistan)
Out of all the four co-hosts, Malaysia sadly did the worst although they did have a tough group to qualify from. Recent World Cup competitors China and Iran were formidable opponents as well as the former Soviet state of Uzbekistan, and the scorelines were to prove less than flattering.
After an initial 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Chinese, Malaysia stumbled onto a 5-0 thrashing against Uzbekistan before suffering a smaller deficit in a 2-0 defeat to Iran. The Iranians needed a high-scoring win to make certain of a place in the next round as China also had four points going into the last game with Uzbekistan on three. In the end, it was inconsequential as the Uzbeks pull off a big shock by beating China 3-0. It meant China were out of the competition having accumulated four points - two less than Uzbekistan and three less than Iran who topped the group.
Uzbekistan pull off a shock win against China
Group D (Bahrain / Indonesia / Korea Republic / Saudi Arabia)
Group D was another with two favourites to make it through to the quarter finals and once again it was they that played true to form.
The two teams in question, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia, met in the second game of the group in Jakarta which proved eventful not so much because of the action which lead to the 1-1 scoreline, but more for the floodlight failure which occurred five minutes from time that lasted for nearly half an hour.
Having picked up a point each, it was then just a matter of beating their weaker opponents in the remaining games. Korea, however, almost slipped up as in their next game Bahrain were the victors by two goals to one and it was only a narrow 1-0 win over Indonesia that saw them through. Saudi Arabia were altogether more competent in their games, Beating Indonesia 2-1 (admittedly thanks to a last minute winner from Al-Harthi) and Bahrain 4-0.
So Saudi Arabia finished top of the group with seven points from a possible nine and Korea Republic were second with only four. Despite attendances of 87,000 in two of their games, Indonesia missed out on a quarter final place by just one point, as did Bahrain who finished fourth.
Quarter Finals
And so to the quarter finals which began today. The first match took place in Bangkok and in it Iraq beat the only remaining co-host, Vietnam, 2-0. It means Iraq reach the Asian Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1976, and on Wednesday they'll be playing the winner of tomorrow's game between Iran and the Korean Republic.
Today's other quarter final was between Japan and Australia in Hanoi. Australia counted themselves lucky to even be there after a somewhat disastrous first round, but they dug deep to frustrate the Japanese.
John Aloisi had given Australia the lead after 70 minutes but Japan came straight back two minutes later with an equaliser from Naohiro Takahara. Vince Grella was then sent off shortly after for elbowing Takahara when both jumped up for a header, but despite the numerical advantage, Japan couldn't find a winning goal - even in thirty minutes of extra time.
The game went to a penalty shoot-out and the writing was on the wall for the Australians right from the start when Premier League players Lucas Neill and Harry Kewell missed the first two for the Socceroos. Japan found themselves 3-1 up and apparently coasting when Takahara smashed Japan's fourth over the bar, allowing Australia to pull one back.
At 3-2, Yuji Nakazawa had the unenviable job of taking Japan's last penalty which had to go in for them to win the match, and so it did. Japan therefore remain on course to win their third successive Asian Cup, but before that, they must play the winner of tomorrow's second quarter-final - the last of the four - between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
This is the fourteenth Asian Cup to take place since its inauguration back in 1956 when Hong Kong were given the honour of beginning the four-yearly cycle. At the time, only twelve countries were affiliated to the AFC but seven took part in that first competition which was won by the Korean Republic. Four years later, the Korean Republic hosted the tournament themselves and promptly won it again.
Having been runners-up in the first two tournaments, Israel finally prevailed in 1964, but the Asian Cup was hereafter to feature a series of dominant periods for some of the region's heavyweights.
Iran won the next three tournaments from 1968 to 1976 and after Kuwait brought that run to an end in 1980, Saudi Arabia took over as the team to beat, winning in 1984, 1988 and 1996. Japan stopped a potential four-in-a-row sequence by snatching the trophy in 1992 on home soil and picked up where they left off by winning it again in 2000 and 2004.
All of which brings us up to the present day and since the last tournament in China, the Asian Cup has really meant business. Japan are still ruling the roost, new teams like Uzbekistan and Australia are trying to upset the equilibrium while long-dormant big-wigs like Iran and the Korean Republic continue in their fight to be Asia's number 1 again.
So how has the 2007 tournament started so far? Let's find out...
First Round
Group A (Australia / Iraq / Oman / Thailand)
All eyes were on Australia who had jumped ship to be a part of the AFC after years of affiliation with the ceania Football Confederation. Things didn't start well for them though - only an injury time equaliser from Tim Cahill was good enough to earn them a 1-1 draw with Oman. Come the second match, things got even worse when a strong Iraq side turned over the Socceroos 3-1.
By this stage, Australia were bottom of the group with no points while co-hosts Thailand had picked up four, as had Iraq. Going into the last round of matches, Australia knew that to finish second in the group and qualify for the quarter finals they'd have to beat Thailand (playing in front of a home crowd) by four clear goals, preferably without conceding any. Oh, and hope that Iraq would beat Oman in the other game going on at the same time.
To their credit, they did exactly that. Aussie coach Graham Arnold made four changes to the side that lost to Iraq, including the demotion of Harry Kewell to the bench. It paid off as Mark Viduka scored two after Michael Beauchamp got the opener in the 21st minute and Harry Kewell came on to score a 90th minute clincher.
That 4-0 win meant heartbreak for Thailand as they finished third in the group on goal difference behind Australia in second and Iraq, a point ahead of them at the top. Oman's goalless draw with Iraq in front of a crowd of just 500 was not enough to keep them off the foot of the group table.
Highlights of Thailand v Australia
Group B (Japan / Qatar / United Arab Emirates / Vietnam)
Hot favourites to win this group were Japan although at 36 their current FIFA ranking is just six places better than the UAE. As it was, Japan didn't disappoint despite dropping two points against Qatar in their first game after Sebastian Quintana equalised from a free kick two minutes from the end.
That minor blip out of the way, Japan breezed past the UAE with a 3-1 win before going on to sweep aside Vietnam 4-1. Luckily for the co-hosts, their hard work had already been done thanks to a 2-0 opening victory against the United Arab Emirates and a 1-1 draw against Qatar. All they had to hope for was that the UAE would beat Qatar in their last game, and they duly did.
So after all that, Japan finished top of Group B with five points and going through to the next round were Vietnam on four. The United Arab Emirates, despite that win in their last game, went home with just three points and Qatar's two draws left them bottom on two.
Group C (China / Iran / Malaysia / Uzbekistan)
Out of all the four co-hosts, Malaysia sadly did the worst although they did have a tough group to qualify from. Recent World Cup competitors China and Iran were formidable opponents as well as the former Soviet state of Uzbekistan, and the scorelines were to prove less than flattering.
After an initial 5-1 thrashing at the hands of the Chinese, Malaysia stumbled onto a 5-0 thrashing against Uzbekistan before suffering a smaller deficit in a 2-0 defeat to Iran. The Iranians needed a high-scoring win to make certain of a place in the next round as China also had four points going into the last game with Uzbekistan on three. In the end, it was inconsequential as the Uzbeks pull off a big shock by beating China 3-0. It meant China were out of the competition having accumulated four points - two less than Uzbekistan and three less than Iran who topped the group.
Uzbekistan pull off a shock win against China
Group D (Bahrain / Indonesia / Korea Republic / Saudi Arabia)
Group D was another with two favourites to make it through to the quarter finals and once again it was they that played true to form.
The two teams in question, Korea Republic and Saudi Arabia, met in the second game of the group in Jakarta which proved eventful not so much because of the action which lead to the 1-1 scoreline, but more for the floodlight failure which occurred five minutes from time that lasted for nearly half an hour.
Having picked up a point each, it was then just a matter of beating their weaker opponents in the remaining games. Korea, however, almost slipped up as in their next game Bahrain were the victors by two goals to one and it was only a narrow 1-0 win over Indonesia that saw them through. Saudi Arabia were altogether more competent in their games, Beating Indonesia 2-1 (admittedly thanks to a last minute winner from Al-Harthi) and Bahrain 4-0.
So Saudi Arabia finished top of the group with seven points from a possible nine and Korea Republic were second with only four. Despite attendances of 87,000 in two of their games, Indonesia missed out on a quarter final place by just one point, as did Bahrain who finished fourth.
Quarter Finals
And so to the quarter finals which began today. The first match took place in Bangkok and in it Iraq beat the only remaining co-host, Vietnam, 2-0. It means Iraq reach the Asian Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1976, and on Wednesday they'll be playing the winner of tomorrow's game between Iran and the Korean Republic.
Today's other quarter final was between Japan and Australia in Hanoi. Australia counted themselves lucky to even be there after a somewhat disastrous first round, but they dug deep to frustrate the Japanese.
John Aloisi had given Australia the lead after 70 minutes but Japan came straight back two minutes later with an equaliser from Naohiro Takahara. Vince Grella was then sent off shortly after for elbowing Takahara when both jumped up for a header, but despite the numerical advantage, Japan couldn't find a winning goal - even in thirty minutes of extra time.
The game went to a penalty shoot-out and the writing was on the wall for the Australians right from the start when Premier League players Lucas Neill and Harry Kewell missed the first two for the Socceroos. Japan found themselves 3-1 up and apparently coasting when Takahara smashed Japan's fourth over the bar, allowing Australia to pull one back.
At 3-2, Yuji Nakazawa had the unenviable job of taking Japan's last penalty which had to go in for them to win the match, and so it did. Japan therefore remain on course to win their third successive Asian Cup, but before that, they must play the winner of tomorrow's second quarter-final - the last of the four - between Saudi Arabia and Uzbekistan on Wednesday.
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